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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27071353">you look so good it hurts (in my t-shirt)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryprose/pseuds/starryprose'>starryprose</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, M/M, Modern AU, Random - Freeform, idk what this is tbh, its soft, sort of modern au?, zukka - Freeform, zukka brainrot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-09 00:42:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,304</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27071353</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/starryprose/pseuds/starryprose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Zuko is wearing blue. </p><p>And it really shouldn't be a big deal but Sokka is Sokka and Zuko is Zuko, so it is. Because Sokka wears blue and Zuko wears red or black or gray but never blue. </p><p>[Alternatively: Suki deserves a gift card]</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aang/Katara (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), past Suki/Sokka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>372</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>you look so good it hurts (in my t-shirt)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi everyone! So I succumbed to ATLA renaissance and am now a zukka stan. How fun! Seriously though I ship like everything in ATLA but I do love Zukka's dynamic a lot! I have a ton of Zukka fics started but this short sort of messy and fluffy one shot is all I've finished. I work full time and it's my senior year so busy busy! Hopefully, I'll have more out though!! This came to me after I listened to "Favorite T-shirt" by Jake Scott on my drive home the other day. Some of the title is taken from that. Hope yall enjoy, kudos and comments always appreciated!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Zuko is wearing blue.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Most people wouldn’t be phased by someone wearing a different color than they usually do but Sokka is himself and Zuko is Zuko. So, it’s a huge deal. Because Zuko only wears shades of red and other black items, sometimes some gray and white, but there’s no sort of blues anywhere in his wardrobe.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka’s the one who wears blue.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But here’s Zuko meeting their gang of friends at the bar for their hangout night and Zuko’s wearing </span>
  <em>
    <span>blue</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It’s not the bright blues that Sokka usually favors or the cool paler ones that Katara likes. It’s a navy blue but still.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The thing is, it’s definitely Sokka’s shirt. Zuko’s standing there wearing </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sokka’s blue</span>
  </em>
  <span> shirt and the v of it hangs a little lower on Zuko’s chest than it does on Sokka’s, the paler boys collar bones are more exposed. And Zuko usually wears gold-accented things but today he’s wearing a silver thumb ring that Sokka knows Katara gave him once because he said he liked it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka sort of wants to push Zuko up against the wall and kiss him senseless. Of course, it wouldn’t go that smoothly. Knowing Sokka one of them would somehow end up with a concussion or something instead of a hot make-out session.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka knows why Zuko has his shirt, remembers the exact exchange that left Zuko walking out with Sokka’s navy t-shirt that led to Zuko standing here ten feet away from Sokka looking really hot.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a rainy Tuesday a month ago and neither of the boys had prepared for the downpour that had occurred. It was a decent walk from the bus stop to Sokka’s tiny apartment with Katara and they’d made a mad dash in the rain. Once they’d arrived they’d both been thoroughly soaked. Zuko usually kept extra clothes at Sokka’s, they were good friends, it made sense. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But unfortunately, Zuko didn’t have a shirt in his stashed clothes. So he stood in front of Sokka in low sitting black sweatpants, damp hair still plastered to his forehead, shirtless and clutching his wet clothes into a ball in his hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you have a shirt I can borrow?” Zuko had asked and Sokka couldn’t speak for a minute. His thoughts were focused on the V of Zuko’s hips and his chest and his collarbones and holy fuck, Zuko. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen his friend shirtless before but there was just something about this time that had hit Sokka across the face and in his feelings.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe it was because Sokka was single and had been for a while. He wasn’t hung up on anyone else and he and Zuko had been getting closer. Zuko had always been attractive but now Sokka was attracted to him, physically and emotionally.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sokka, did you hear me?” Zuko asked, eyes narrowing and his brow furrowing. Sokka shook his head quickly before standing up too fast and nearly falling over as he got dizzy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah! Sorry, I’ll grab you a shirt really quick.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka had spent the rest of the night sitting across the couch from Zuko in his navy blue tee, the neckline much much lower on Zuko because it was bigger on him, Zuko’s shoulders being more narrow than Sokka who was built like a swimmer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sokka could not believe he hadn’t gotten his shirt back from Zuko before it was sort of used to attack him again. He has a faint idea that it was likely Suki who led to this attack on his emotions. He shouldn’t have ever confessed to Suki that he was starting to feel things for Zuko that weren’t strictly platonic. Suki knew he was a sucker for people wearing his clothes, he’d always been weak when she’d steal his tank tops that had holes in the arms down to her waist and he could place his hand against the open and exposed skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t have much time to think about his plans to bitch at Suki until she put him out of his misery because Zuko was next to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hi,” Zuko said almost shyly. His eyes were sort of a darker gold than usual. Had Zuko always been so attractive? So, striking? Tui and La, Sokka was whipped. Zuko was just wearing </span>
  <em>
    <span>his shirt</span>
  </em>
  <span> and jeans and his hair was the exact same shaggy length it had been for the past few months since he’d cut it after leaving his abusive father behind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uhm, hi.” Sokka managed to choke out, he fidgeted and almost managed to spill his drink all over the both of them. He managed to still the glass and his hands enough to leave it on the table and instead switch to bouncing his leg. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t understand why he was so nervous. Sokka wasn’t really a great flirt, he liked to say he was but he remembered humiliatingly asking Yue to do an activity with him. But this was Zuko, they were friends. He shouldn’t have to flirt really, not intensely. Aang had never flirted with Katara but then again Sokka didn’t think he really wanted to take a page out of the romance book Aang had used when he was thirteen to win over Sokka’s, then, fifteen-year-old sister. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was saved from continuing to spout nonsense by Suki and Toph getting up to do karaoke. They chose a song Toph knew the words to so that not being able to see the lyric screen wouldn’t be an issue. Toph screamed the words into the mic, doing the rock on symbol with her hands while sticking out her tongue towards her chin. Suki cackled hysterically into the mic most of the time and copied Toph’s movements.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time the pair had worked through the ten songs that Toph knew by heart and the other five she knew well enough to not entirely ruin to the point that it was annoying but rather endearing, Katara and Aang had already left. Sokka could tell Zuko was winding down too, he was more fidgety and there was an exhaustion to him that hinted that his social battery was drained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wanna crash at my place?” Sokka asked Zuko before he could reason with himself that sharing a bed with the guy he liked was probably not the best idea for his emotions. Zuko smiled so thankfully though and Sokka’s heart did flips so it had to be a good idea honestly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’d be great,” The older boy replied and by the time Sokka paid for his drinks and told Toph and Suki to let him know when they got home, Zuko was waiting by the door, his jacket tossed over his arm. Sokka took up the space next to him and together the boys started the fifteen-minute walk towards Sokka’s apartment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The artificial yellow of the streetlamps was unflattering lighting most of the time, only complimentary for disposable camera photos, but every time they passed under a streetlight and Sokka caught a better look at Zuko, he felt utterly gone. He wasn’t even sure when these feelings had gotten so out of hand, maybe it was just because Sokka was an all in sort of guy. He hadn’t known Yue long before he was fully in love with her. Even he and Suki’s romantic time together had been pretty quick after them meeting. Sokka fell hard and fast but for some reason, Zuko had come out of nowhere. He’d known him for years now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is there something wrong?” Zuko asked him, breaking the silence that had been between them. His golden eyes were narrowed, his face shadowed oddly from the streetlights and still wearing Sokka’s fucking t-shirt. He looked annoyed or anxious, sometimes the two seemed similar on Zuko so Sokka scrambled to provide an excuse that hopefully wouldn’t make him want to climb into a hole afterward.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No! You just uh you look good!” He finally managed to say. “I mean, you always look good but uh, I like you in blue. You look hot. I mean, fuck, you just look good.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko’s cheeks were tinged pink and Sokka was glad that the natural melanin in his skin hid his blush easier than Zuko’s skin hid his. Because Sokka’s face was on fire. Zuko just pulled his chin in some, shyly, before he spoke.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks. Sorry, I forgot to give you your shirt back,” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Literally do not be sorry at all,” And wow did Sokka just not have a filter anymore? Apparently not. At this point, Sokka might as well kiss Zuko, make it abundantly clear that Sokka had a crush and it was indeed on Zuko. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Apparently, his brain didn’t have a filter for his actions either because suddenly Sokka was leaning towards Zuko and Zuko’s eyes widened before sort of fluttering shut. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you about to kiss me?” Zuko said in a higher pitch than usual, his voice catching on the last word. His eyes were still closed and he was leaning into Sokka too though as if they were some magnets that had gotten caught in each other’s pull and couldn’t quite turn away now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You betcha buddy,” Sokka said, his voice also cracking like when he’d gone through puberty. He knew Katara and Zuko would both hit him over the head for saying buddy but he didn’t care because he was finally kissing Zuko. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He tasted like eucalyptus mint and artificial sweeteners and he smelled like home and spices and his lips were so fucking soft. The kiss was by no means perfect, no moonlit one like his first one with Yue and no lipstick smudging like his first one with Suki, but it was good in the way moments with Zuko always seemed to be good nowadays. Zuko kissed back, slowly at first, unsure but then slowly growing more confident, shifting his face so his nose didn’t press too hard against Sokka’s.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko’s hands fell to Sokka’s waist and he sort of pushed him back into one of the tiny alleyways a block away from Sokka’s building. Sokka laughed a little as he nearly tripped over a trashcan lid, breaking away from Zuko for a minute before he was pulled back in. Zuko’s hands slipped under the t-shirt Sokka was wearing, his long fingers pressing into the dimples on Sokka’s lower back and Sokka was horribly ticklish so he laughed again against Zuko’s lips. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the shadows of the alley, Sokka saw Zuko smile as he pulled away and Sokka took the chance to brush his hand against Zuko’s exposed collarbones and when he leaned in again he only kissed Zuko’s lips softly before he aimed towards Zuko’s neck. The noise Zuko let out was both amusing and the sort of sound Sokka wanted to keep hearing. It was a deeper sort of whimper and Zuko’s breathing picked up as Sokka continued his kissing against Zuko’s neck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Zuko’s fingers dug into Sokka’s sides, trying to ground himself and Sokka resisted the urge to wiggle away from the touch that made him want to burst into laughter. He fucking hated being ticklish. Instead, he pulled away some from Zuko’s neck and Zuko made the same whimper again but this time it was more whiny, upset at the loss of contact.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve gotta remember to breathe baby,” Sokka said, aiming to tease the boy in front of him. Zuko scowled but there was a soft look in his eyes, despite the way his pupils were blown wide. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let me try doing that to you and we’ll see how your breathing is,” The other boy retorted and Sokka laughed again, leaning forwards on the balls of his feet into Zuko’s space again to brush his lips across his cheek. He grabbed Zuko’s hand and tangled their fingers together. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How about we make it home and I’ll hold you to that challenge? See if you can make my breathing more uneven than yours just was,” Sokka suggested and Zuko pretended to think it over. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” He finally compiled and Sokka squeezed his hand tightly, Zuko returned the pressure easily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“By the way, I’m really fucking glad you had to borrow my shirt,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>********</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>[Bonus]</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’re on the outskirts of town in a large field that Aang had found once and shared with the rest of the gaang, as they called themselves. It was far enough away from the city lights you could see the stars more clearly and Sokka adored it. It reminded him of nights fishing and sailing with his dad, of his mother’s stories about the stars. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The back of Sokka’s SUV is opened and he and Zuko are slumped into it, curled under blankets. Zuko is leaning against Sokka, his arm around Sokka’s waist while Sokka’s is across Zuko’s shoulders. It’s not a new routine for them, a couple of months of dating now making it easy for them to meld into each other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know it was Suki who told me to wear your shirt. I almost forgot I had it.” Zuko randomly said. Sokka chuckled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I had a feeling. She was really smug after we got together and she was the only person who knew I was crushing. I probably owe her a gift card or some shit now,” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I got you out of it. So, I’d buy her a gift card myself,” Zuko replied and he smiled up at Sokka. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sap,” Sokka replied but he felt mushy inside. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As if you’re not sappier. It only took me wearing your shirt before you were like putty,” Zuko retorted, flicking Sokka’s knee. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut up,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Make me,” Zuko challenged and Sokka leaned down to kiss him. Zuko successfully shut up, bringing his hand up to cup the back of Sokka’s neck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Okay, yeah, maybe Suki really did deserve a gift card or something. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Feel free to check me out on tumblr elise--alisande to chat!!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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